


The Hour Before the Dawn

by Settiai



Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Established Relationship, Holly Poly, M/M, Multi, One Shot, Threesome, Threesome - M/M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-16
Updated: 2016-01-16
Packaged: 2018-05-13 21:14:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,356
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5717371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Settiai/pseuds/Settiai
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was too late to be considered night and too early to be morning.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Hour Before the Dawn

**Author's Note:**

  * For [heeroluva](https://archiveofourown.org/users/heeroluva/gifts).



Cullen wasn't entirely certain when he had gotten in the habit of walking the walls on the nights when he woke up and couldn't fall back to sleep, in the murky hours when it was too late to be considered night and too early to be morning.

He suspected it was sometime after Hawke had arrived at Skyhold, mostly because it was almost a habit to place the blame on Hawke whenever possible. Still, he didn't know for certain. And, when it all came down to it, he suspected it didn't truly matter.

Maybe in another life he would have called it peaceful. At that time of the night, Skyhold was deserted in a way it never was during the day. The night sky lit up the mountain peaks around them, the stars shining like beacons and usually at least one of the moons as well. Even Cullen couldn't argue that it was a stunning sight.

Still, it was hard to think of anything as serene nowadays. Not when his heart was pounding so hard that he could almost hear it. Not when every soldier on guard that he passed was a challenge to overcome, yet another person to hide his weakness from.

No, as beautiful as it was, it wasn't peaceful. Not for him.

Cullen shivered, and absently he realized that he was in nothing but his breeches and a thin linen shirt. He didn't particularly want to go back to his quarters, knowing full well the walls would feel stiflingly close around him despite the gaping hole in his roof. The last thing he needed was to catch cold, though.

"You're up early."

Cullen didn't startle. He would have if he hadn't had any warning, but Bull was always careful not to surprise him. He'd made enough noise that Cullen had heard him coming, heavy footsteps that were clearly for his benefit considering Cullen knew for a fact that Bull could be almost as silent as Cole when he wanted.

"You're up late," Cullen returned coolly, quirking an eyebrow as he glanced over at Bull.

Bull huffed. He didn't actually smile, but there was something in his eyes that reminded Cullen of one. "Something came up," he said. "It kept me busy for a while."

If it wasn't for the fact that Bull blinked rapidly as he said "came up," his own rather atrocious version of a one-eyed wink, the innuendo might have flown straight over Cullen's head considering how tired he was. Even he couldn't miss something _that_ obvious, though, no matter how horrible a line it was.

Cullen snorted despite himself.

Bull grinned. "Come on," he said, gesturing for Cullen to follow him as he turned and headed back in the direction he'd come from. "It's a cold night."

That was it. No questions. No judgement. Just an offer, made in a way that Cullen could easily ignore if he chose to do so.

It had been a long time since Cullen had ignored one of those offers.

Cullen couldn't help but notice that Bull didn't touch him. He never did, on the bad nights, at least not straight away. There was a small part of Cullen that resented it, that his weakness affected even something so small. Mostly, though, he was grateful.

It also didn't escape Cullen's notice that Bull didn't glance behind him once to see if Cullen was following. He didn't have to look.

*

Dorian was asleep in Bull's bed when Cullen followed him into his quarters. Or, more precisely, he was sprawled naked in Bull's bed, carefully feigning sleep.

The first time Cullen had stayed long enough to watch Dorian fall asleep, it had caught him by surprise just how different Dorian looked. The careful façade that he usually wore during the day disappeared, the mask cracking and revealing the man behind it. He sprawled out when sleeping, his arms and legs taking up as much space as possible. Overall, it made him look years younger.

That wasn't the scene that greeted them.

Dorian wasn't taking up nearly as much of the bed as he did when he was truly asleep, and he was poised just a bit too suggestively for it to be natural. One of his hips was jutted up at an angle that couldn't have been comfortable, but it was perfect for showing off his clear arousal. His hair was mussed enough that Cullen could easily believe that he had been asleep at some point, but he clearly wasn't any longer.

The fact that there were over a dozen wisps darting around the room, lighting it up better than any candle, was a bit of a giveaway as well.

Bull snorted. "Move over, kadan," he said, dropping down onto the foot of the bed. "Give us some room."

Dorian's eyes snapped open, dropping his hip and pushing himself up into a much more comfortable-looking sitting position all in one fluid movement. He didn't make any move to hide his nudity, but that wasn't unexpected. It wasn't as if it was the first time this particular scene had played out.

Cullen couldn't help but look away when Dorian's gaze met his, a hint of concern shining in his eyes. "Ah," Dorian said, sliding away from the edge of the bed in order to make more room. "I wondered where he had disappeared off to."

Bull grinned. "Did you miss me?"

It was Dorian's turn to snort, although Cullen was certain he would swear up and done he hadn't done anything so undignified. "Only your body heat," Dorian said primly. "It's frigid in here."

Cullen let the familiar banter wash over him as he sat down on the bed beside Dorian, a wave of exhaustion rushing through him. He knew that he should say something, but he stayed quiet and simply let Bull's and Dorian's voices anchor him to the here and now. His dreams from earlier still tugged at his mind, filled with demons and death and regrets.

"Fasta vass, Cullen, your skin is like ice," Dorian said suddenly, and Cullen realized with a jolt of surprise that he'd tilted somewhat askew and was leaning against him. He quickly straightened back up.

"Sorry," he said tiredly.

Dorian shook his head. "You should be," he said, a mock-serious tone to his voice. "Did I say anything about you moving?"

It wasn't all that funny, but Cullen couldn't help but chuckle.

On the other side of the bed, Bull suddenly shifted. He leaned past Dorian, one of his hands brushing Dorian's bare shoulder in the process before it stopped a hand's breadth or so away from Cullen's chest. "Mind if I touch you?"

Cullen hesitated for just a moment before nodding.

He wasn't certain what he'd been expecting. A kiss. A grope. A hand down his trousers. One of the first things he'd learned when whatever this was had started was to expect the unexpected when it came to Bull, after all.

What he got was Bull pushing him down onto the bed, firmly but gently. Cullen blinked in surprise.

"I'm beat," Bull said, shrugging. "I figure we can all do with some sleep."

He pulled away from Cullen and turned his attention toward Dorian, doing the same thing to him. Or, more precisely, trying to do the same to Dorian. A few well-placed zaps of electricity quickly had him swearing and yanking his hand away.

"I can put myself to bed, thank you very much," Dorian said waspishly, his tone of voice belied a bit by the amusement in his eyes. "I don't need assistance."

Bull huffed but didn't argue.

Cullen cleared his throat. "I'm not an invalid," he pointed out. "If the two of you—"

The wisps suddenly disappeared, pitching the room into darkness.

Bull guffawed.

"Point taken, Dorian," Cullen said dryly.

At his side, there was a rustling sound as Dorian shifted. A hand clasped Cullen's arm for a moment, squeezing reassuringly before letting go.

It wasn't much, but it was enough. A chance to put the nightmares back where they belonged, in the past. Buried in the dark.

For the time being, at least.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me over on Tumblr. (http://settiai.tumblr.com/)


End file.
